It’s been over six months now since the launch of the Xbox Series X|S and, aside from the short supply of consoles, the transition to this new generation has gone rather well for Microsoft. With no bundled Kinect, no unwanted TV features, and simultaneously having the most powerful and cheapest consoles on the market, Xbox has done a much better job with this console launch than they did back in 2013. There’s only one thing missing from this almost perfect launch, the games.
I know there’s three generations of backwards compatibility, and a constantly evolving catalogue available through Xbox Game Pass, but I can’t help but think we should have had a couple of big AAA exclusives by now to really show what the console is capable of. Halo Infinite was supposed to be that big console-selling launch title but ultimately wasn’t ready in time, partly due to the pandemic I expect, and is now set to release towards the end of the year. The perfect way to open this year’s E3 showcase would be to wow us all with some new and improved gameplay of the next generation of Halo.
Looking back at E3 2020 we actually already know about quite a lot of games that are currently in the works, from Hellblade II that was announced alongside the Series X, to reboots of both the Forza Motorsport and Fable franchise. So let’s have a quick look at what each studio is working on and then make some predictions about the future.
- Halo Infinite – 343 Industries – TBC 2021
- Starfield – Bethesda Game Studios – TBC
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II – Ninja Theory – TBC
- Everwild – Rare – TBC
- Fable – Playground Games – TBC
- Perfect Dark – The Initiative – TBC
- Forza Motorsport – Turn 10 – TBC
- State of Decay 3 – Undead Labs – TBC
As you can see that is a solid lineup of games, especially when you remember every one of them will be included with Game Pass. I expect we’ll hear more about a lot of these during this E3 2021 but with so little known about them, aside from Halo, I think we will be waiting until 2022 before we can actually play them for ourselves.
Recent rumours point to Starfield making an appearance during the show with a 2022 release date attached, and being the first big release since Microsoft acquired Bethesda it will be interesting to get confirmation on whether or not it will be exclusive to Xbox and PC. I don’t buy into the old console wars, one has to be better than the other, type of arguments but if Starfield is kept away from the PS5 it will likely set the path for the future of DOOM, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and every other Bethesda franchise. I also think the time could be right for a new look at Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. After being announced in December 2019 with a dark and mysterious trailer that didn’t give much away, developer Ninja Theory hasn’t given any further updates on the game. With work presumably starting not long after the first game’s release in 2017 this could be the year we get an update and maybe even a release date for this highly anticipated sequel.
As for new announcements, we’re overdue a new entry in the Forza Horizon series and there have been some rumours that it could be out by the end of this year. It would likely be an evolution of Forza Horizon 4, set in a new location with an expanded lineup of cars, and continue with the impressive weather effects Playground had been doing for a few years now.
The other new announcement I’m personally looking forward to is Battlefield 6, having recently just got around to playing the Battlefield V campaign as part of Game Pass. EA has confirmed that we’ll see the new Battlefield game announcement happen sometime in June, and with their partnership to bundle EA Play with Game Pass Ultimate I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens at the Xbox showcase and comes to Game Pass on day one.
So that is what I’d like to see from Xbox over the coming months and I think you’d agree they have a lot of exciting things in the pipeline. If all of these games are as good as they appear to be, that Game Pass subscription is going to be well worth the price over the next couple of years. As always, let us know which upcoming games you are most looking forward to playing. The comments section is below.
